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The Wanderers

"Station Eleven meets The Martian in this brilliantly inventive novel about three astronauts training for the first-ever mission to Mars, an experience that will push the boundary between real and unreal, test their relationships, and leave each of them--and their families--changed forever In an age of space exploration, we search to find ourselves. In four years Prime Space will put the first humans on Mars. Helen Kane, Yoshi Tanaka, and Sergei Kuznetsov must prove they're the crew for the job by spending seventeen months in the most realistic simulation ever created. Retired from NASA, Helen had not trained for irrelevance. It is nobody's fault that the best of her exists in space, but her daughter can't help placing blame. The MarsNOW mission is Helen's last chance to return to the only place she's ever truly felt at home. For Yoshi, it's an opportunity to prove himself worthy of the wife he has loved absolutely, if not quite rightly. Sergei is willing to spend seventeen months in a tin can if it means travelling to Mars. He will at least be tested past the point of exhaustion, and this is the example he will set for his sons. As the days turn into months the line between what is real and unreal becomes blurred, and the astronauts learn that the complications of inner space are no less fraught than those of outer space. The Wanderers gets at the desire behind all exploration: the longing for discovery and the great search to understand the human heart"-- Provided by publisher.Training for the first-ever mission to Mars, three astronauts share experiences that push the boundary between the real and surreal while irrevocably changing their relationships and familial bonds.

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When this book was recommended to me, it was compared to "The Martian." I loved "The Martian," but this book was nothing like it. I'm hesitant to even consider it sci-fi, as the science aspect took a back seat to the rest. Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed "The Wanderers."

The premise of this story is a rich private company, Prime, is planning to send humans to Mars, and they select Helen- an American woman, Sergei- a Russian man, and Yoshi- a Japanese man to participate in a simulation of the trip to and from Mars that will take place in Utah. These three are chosen not only for their individual talents and personalities, but also for how they will interact with each other on this long-haul mission. If they do well during this simulation, they will be the first humans to set foot on the red planet.

They are very aware of the importance of their "performance" during the simulation, and this leads to everyone essentially acting like the astronauts they assume Prime is expecting. Their families are also included- it's very important for the astronauts to have a supportive family.

While there was a bit of cool science, the heart of this novel is relationships (human and otherwise). Relationships between family members and colleagues, blooming relationships that may or may not be socially acceptable, and an interesting bit of relationships with robots.

Be warned: there's not a ton of action in this story. It's mostly a lovely character-driven exploration on humanity.

Very enjoyable book for the first half with a very believable mission for three interesting astronauts. Author ignores an elephant in the space ship when she puts together two men with one woman. A two year mission and there will not be any thought of sex yet one of the men is divorced and the lady is widowed. Last part of the book drags due to the constant asides to deal with the family members and their very petty problems. The great explorers of the 12-1700 era used to disappear for years on their sea voyages and treks and that is the price families pay when connected to great explorers-it is dangerous and time consuming get used to it already!

Literary science fiction about going to Mars for people who don't like Mars. If you do like Mars, bonus. The novel's conceit may irritate some readers but it also delightfully mirrors the experience of our protagonists. A clever book that might make your brain hurt.

Wonderfully complex characters and interesting setting. The story is about a simulated trip to Mars, and reading the book is like being in the simulation yourself. This book would be a great book club book, lots to discuss about relationships and the nature of reality!

A very enjoyable read. Although there is not a lot of action, it was an interesting study into the psychology of space travel. It was fascinating to watch how each of the main participants worked toward their ultimate goals. The control of emotions, the political correctness of what they say (knowing that every word, look, gesture was being scrutinized), the subservance of personal relationships to their own desires was expressed with depth and poetry. Well done.